The Russian authorities have postponed the start of deliveries of the MC-21 (“Trunk aircraft of the XXI century”). This follows from the statement of the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia Denis Manturov on the air of the YouTube channel “Soloviev LIVE”.
According to the minister, the first deliveries will begin at the end of 2022 after the aircraft certificate is received. In the summer of 2020, Manturov announced that the shipment of the first commercial aircraft to the operator is scheduled for the end of 2021.
According to the plan, by the end of 2022 Russia is going to enter the production of four aircraft, in 2023 to raise the bar to 10-15 aircraft, in 2024 – to produce 30 aircraft, by 2025 – 36 aircraft. In the future, Russia is going to produce 82 aircraft per year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that, if necessary, the production of MS-21 can be up to 100 units per year, if there is a great demand in the domestic and foreign markets.
This is not the first time that aircraft shipments have been rescheduled. Earlier it was assumed that the manufacturer of the airliner, the Irkut corporation (part of the United Aircraft Corporation), will receive a certificate for the MC-21 at the end of 2020. It confirms the possibility of safe operation of the model; without a certificate, deliveries of an aircraft to airlines are impossible.